While the majority of German consumers believe that gender equality is very important, only 13% believe it has been fully achieved in the country, a survey by Ipsos has revealed.
According to the survey, nearly two-fifths of Germans say gender equality is personally important to them, with 67% of women and 49% of men sharing this view.
In terms of progress towards gender equality, just over half of men (51%) believe that “enough has already been done” to achieve equality for women, while only 35% of women share this view.
Two-fifths (39%) of Germans believe that too much is expected of men today to ensure equality, an increase of eight percentage points from 2019. Forty-nine per cent of men agree with this statement, compared to 29% of women.
Leadership roles
When it comes to leadership, more than half of Germans (51%) believe that appointing more women to leadership positions in both politics and business would benefit society. This opinion is shared by 59% of women and 42% of men.
In addition, 53% of women believe that appointing women to leadership positions is necessary to achieve greater gender equality, while only 37 % of men share this opinion.
Domestic responsibilities
When it comes to domestic duties, more than two-fifths (43%) of respondents believe that housework and caring for the sick are responsibilities of both genders, although around half (49%) believe that this is still mainly a female role.
Some 13% of Germans believe that men are “less masculine” if they stay at home and look after children. This is the opinion of 18% of men compared to 9% of women.
Overall, some 54% of respondents now believe that parental leave is the responsibility of both parents, compared to when it was primarily associated with mothers.
Ipsos’ Global Advisor study was conducted between December 20, 2024 and January 3, 2025 and included 24,269 participants worldwide, including 1,000 respondents from Germany aged 16-74.
